This invention relates to a cleansing material which exerts an excellent cleansing effect on various makeup stains, and which sufficiently removes both aqueous makeup cosmetics and oily makeup cosmetics conveniently, quickly and sufficiently.
Makeup cosmetics must be highly adhesive to the skin, and highly resistant to moisture and sebum, so that they do not easily come off but, instead, last longer. In particular, mascara, which is one type of makeup cosmetics, contains solid waxes (beeswax, etc.), film-forming resins (acrylic resins, etc.) or emulsions thereof to give oily (water-proof) mascara products. Alternatively, makeup cosmetics may use water-soluble resins capable of forming film (polyvinyl alcohol, etc.) to give aqueous mascara products, thereby providing products which do not easily come off, but which last longer.
On the other hand, it is also necessary to efficiently remove makeup cosmetics and, thus, various cleansing materials have been employed therefore, for example: cleansing oils containing oily materials as the major components; high-viscosity cleansing compositions (for example, cleansing creams, cleansing gels) consisting essentially of oily components, water and surfactants; and low-viscosity cleansing compositions (for example, cleansing milks and milky lotions).
However, the cleansing oils and the low-viscosity cleansing compositions are inconvenient to use, since it is feared that these products would drip and stain, for example, clothes or washstands. On the other hand, high-viscosity cleansing compositions tend to take a very long time to exert the cleansing effect. Furthermore, these cleansing compositions are designed to remove either oily makeup cosmetics (for example, oily (water-proof) mascara), or to remove aqueous makeup cosmetics (for example, aqueous mascara), but cannot remove both types of makeup cosmetics at the same time.
There have been proposed two-phase cleansing compositionsxe2x80x94containing an oily phase and an aqueous phase separated from each otherxe2x80x94which aim at removing both of oily (water-proof) mascara and aqueous mascara at the same time. The waterproof mascara is removed by the oily phase of such cleansing compositions and the aqueous mascara is removed by the aqueous phase. However, these products are inconvenient to use, since they must be vigorously shaken by hand to give an apparently homogeneous dispersion before use, then must be absorbed by a cotton absorbent or a tissue sheet, followed by wiping the makeup cosmetics from the skin. Moreover, it is difficult to control the optimum amount of such products.
Accordingly, there have been proposed cleansing materials packed individually wherein a sheet material, which is made of a non-woven fabric or cotton, is impregnated with such a two-phase cleansing composition (see, for example, JP-A-8-40826, claim 1: the term xe2x80x9cJP-Axe2x80x9d as used herein means an xe2x80x9cunexamined published Japanese patent applicationxe2x80x9d).
In case of the cleansing composition described in JP-A-8-40826, the oily phase and the aqueous phase of the two-phase cleansing composition are liable to separate from each other within the sheet material. As a result, the cleansing performance varies in the upper part and the lower part of the sheet material, or on the front face and the back face thereof. Therefore, the cleansing effect is worsened.
To solve this problem, there also have been proposed sheet-type cleansing materials comprising a sheet material, which is made of, for example, cotton or a non-woven fabric impregnated with an aqueous cleansing composition containing an aqueous solution of a surfactant (see, for example, JP-A-11-49641). These cleansing materials have excellent handling properties and are convenient to use, but are insufficient for removing oily (water-proof) mascara.
An object of the present invention is to provide cleansing materials which exert an excellent cleansing effect on various makeup stains, and which remove both of aqueous makeup cosmetics and oily makeup cosmetics sufficiently, conveniently and quickly.
The inventors have found that an emulsion cosmetic (herein after xe2x80x9cemulsionxe2x80x9d) having a viscosity within a specific range is excellent in stability per se (liquid stability), and shows a high storage stability (impregnated sheet stability), without undergoing phase separation over a long period of time when employed in a cleansing material prepared by impregnating a sheet material therewith. The inventors have further found that such an emulsion exerts a high cleansing efficacy on makeup cosmetics (in particular, both of oily (water-proof) mascara and aqueous mascara) and has excellent handling properties.
Accordingly, the invention relates to a cleansing material comprising a sheet material impregnated with an emulsion having a viscosity of 200 to 4000 mPaxc2x7s at 25xc2x0 C. and a viscosity of 100 to 2000 mPaxc2x7s at 50xc2x0 C.
The cleansing material according to the invention comprises a sheet material impregnated with an emulsion.
The xe2x80x9cemulsionxe2x80x9d as used herein, is in the state where oily components and aqueous components have been homogeneously emulsified. Owing to the above-described characteristics, a cleansing material according to the invention is capable of removing not only oily makeup cosmetics (for example, oily mascara), but also aqueous makeup cosmetics (for example, aqueous mascara) at the same time. The emulsion used herein may be either one of the W/O type or the O/W type. The cleansing material according to the present invention has excellent handling properties, and is convenient to use.
The emulsion used in the present invention has a viscosity of 200 to 4000 mPaxc2x7s (preferably 500 to 3000 mPaxc2x7s) at 25xc2x0 C. and a viscosity of 100 to 2000 mPaxc2x7s (preferably 100 to 1200 mPaxc2x7s) at 50xc2x0 C. When the viscosity at 25xc2x0 C. or 50xc2x0 C. is lower than the level as defined above (i.e., an emulsion of relatively low viscosity), it is impossible to ensure any sufficient liquid stability of the emulsion. When the viscosity exceeds the level as defined above (i.e., an emulsion of relatively high viscosity), the emulsion fails to sufficiently remove makeup cosmetics and fails to impregnate into the sheet material.
The emulsion useful herein contains at least an oily component, water, and a surfactant.
When the concentration of the oily component in the emulsion is too small, it is impossible to achieve any sufficient cleansing effect on oily makeup cosmetics. On the other hand, when the concentration of the oily component is too large, the user""s skin texture tends to become oily after wiping. It is therefore preferable that the concentration of the oily component ranges from 10 to 80% by weight, and more preferably from 20 to 70% by weight.
The oily component used in the emulsion of the present invention may include those commonly employed as cosmetic materials. It is possible to use two or more oily components in combination. Examples of the oily component include: hydrocarbons, such as liquid paraffin and squalane; higher alcohols, such as stearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol and oleyl alcohol; fatty acids, such as oleic acid and linoleic acid; dialkyl ethers, such as isostearyl octyl ether, cetyl-1-methylpropyl ether and cetyl-1,3-dimethylbutyl ether; fatty acid esters, such as isopropyl myristate and isopropyl palmitate; fatty acid triglycerides; and silicones, such as cyclic silicones and chain-type dimethylpolysiloxane with a low degree of polymerization.
When the water content in the emulsion is too small, it is impossible to achieve any sufficient cleansing effect on aqueous makeup cosmetics. On the other hand, when the content of water is too large, it is impossible to obtain any sufficient cleansing effect on oily makeup cosmetics. It is therefore preferable that the content of water ranges from 10 to 80% by weight, still preferably from 20 to 70% by weight.
When the concentration of the surfactant in the emulsion is too small, the emulsion shows an insufficient stability in the sheet material. On the other hand, when the content of the surfactant is too large, the user""s skin texture becomes sticky after wiping. It is therefore preferable that the content of the surfactant ranges from 0.5 to 10% by weight, still preferably from 0.5 to 5% by weight.
The surfactant useful herein may include those commonly employed as cosmetic materials. Also, it is possible to use two or more surfactants in combination. Examples of the surfactant include: nonionic surfactants (for example, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, sucrose fatty acid esters, fatty acid monoglycerides, sorbitan fatty acid esters optionally having polyoxyalkylenes added thereto, polyoxyethylene hardened castor oil and fatty acid esters thereof, polyoxyalkylene fatty acid esters); anionic surfactants (for example, sulfate-type surfactants such as alkylsulfuric acid salts, polyoxyethylene alkylsulfuric acid salts, sulfosuccinic acid-type surfactants, taurate-typesurfactants, isethionate-type surfactants and xcex1-olefinsulfonate-type surfactants, sulfonate-type surfactants, carboxylate-type surfactants such as fatty acid soaps, ether carboxylic acid-type surfactants and acylated amino acid-type surfactants, and phosphate-type surfactants such as alkylphosphoric acid ester-type surfactants); and amphoteric surfactants (for example, carbobetaine-type surfactants, phosphobetaine-type surfactants, sulfobetaine-type surfactants, imidazoliniumbetaine-type surfactants).
The emulsion may further contain at least one thickening agent selected from the group consisting of aqueous thickening agents and oily thickening agents so as to control the viscosity, if necessary.
Examples of the aqueous thickening agents useful herein include carrageenan, xanthan gum, starch, guar gum, gum alabic, locust bean gum, glucomannan, pectin, gelatin, carboxymethylcellulose or its salt, methylcellulose, hydroxethylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, carboxyvinyl polymer, and sodium polyacrylate.
Examples of the oily thickening agents include high-molecular weight substances and waxes (for example, carnauba wax, beeswax, polyethylene, paraffin, wax, Japan wax); metal soaps (for example, magnesium stearate, aluminum stearate); inorganic gelling agents (for example, anhydrous silicic acid, lipophilic bentonite); organic gelling agents (for example, polyamides, amino acid derivatives, dextrin higher fatty acid esters, lipophilic sucrose fatty acid esters); and metal dialkylphosphates.
The emulsion may further contain various additives commonly employed in cosmetics (for example, solvents, humectants), if necessary.
In the present invention, the sheet material to be impregnated with the emulsion can be any one of the well-known sheet materials having a favorable skin texture for cleansing. For example, the sheet material used herein may include non-woven fabrics (for example, non-woven cellulose fabric, non-woven rayon fabric, non-woven polyester acetate fabric) and natural cotton sheets. The non-woven fabric preferably, from the viewpoint of obtaining a favorable skin texture, is obtained by the water-entangling method, or may be obtained by combining two or more fibers or a sheet material prepared by laminating or bonding two or more sheets. Particularly, it is preferable to use a sheet material that can be quickly impregnated with the emulsion (which has a viscosity of 200 to 4000 mPaxc2x7s at 25xc2x0 C. and which has a viscosity of 100 to 2000 mPaxc2x7s at 50xc2x0 C.), and that can allow the impregnating emulsion to be stable thereon.
Examples of the sheet materials obtained by combining two or more fiber materials include non-woven fabrics obtained by combining cellulose fibers (including cellulose and rayon) with polyester fibersxe2x80x94including PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and PBT (polybutylene terephthalate). From the viewpoint of achieving a favorable skin texture and an appropriate elasticity, preferably the ratio of cellulose fiber/polyester fiber is the range of from 50/50 to 90/10.
To maintain the emulsion in a favorable state, it is preferable that the sheet material to be used in the invention has a cellulose content (determined by the NMR method) of at least 30% by weight, still preferably at least 50% by weight.
When an average basis weight (weight per unit area) of the sheet material is too small, shape retention of the sheet material deteriorates. On the other hand, when the average basis weight is too large, the sheet material is inflexible and its handling property deteriorates. It is therefore preferable that the average basis weight of the sheet material is from 20 to 120 g/m2, still preferably from 30 to 100 g/m2.
To adequately scratch off stains and keep a favorable skin texture, it is preferable that the average fineness of the fibers is 5 d (denier) or less, still preferably 3 d or less (as denier is determined under an electron microscope).
From the viewpoints of favorable skin texture, adequate performance of scratching off stains, and shape retention, it is preferable that the dry reflectivity of the sheet material, which indicates the fiber density, is at least 45%. The reflectivity can be determined by measuring it a plurality of times (for example, 5 to 10 times) with the use of a color difference meter of the spectroscopic curve/reflectivity mode (SZ-xcexa380 manufactured by Nippon Denshoku K.K., wherein the measurement conditions are: lens diameter: 30 mm, sample stand, light source: C/2, measurement wavelength: 500 nm) and then calculating the average.
The sheet material useful herein has a suitable shape, size, and thickness, from the standpoint of handling properties. For example, the sheet material is preferably in a square, rectangular, circular, or oval, shape with a side or diameter of about 5 to 10 cm and a thickness of about 0.2 to 4 mm.
The sheet material preferably is impregnated with the emulsion at a ratio of from 1 to 10 g, and still more preferably from 2 to 5 g, per gram of the sheet material.
The cleansing material according to the invention can be produced by applying the emulsion to the sheet material by dropping the emulsion from a nozzle, or by spraying it, and then allowing the sheet to stand so as to allow the emulsion to sufficiently impregnate into the sheet material.
Typically, the cleansing material according to the invention is packed in one or more sheets into a bag and then sealed. Before using, the bag is opened and the sheet-type cleansing material is taken out. Then, the sheet-type cleansing material is pressed onto the skin from which makeup cosmetics are to be removed so that the makeup cosmetics are wiped off irrespective of the cosmetics"" nature, i.e., either oily makeup cosmetics or aqueous ones. Thus, the cleansing material can achieve an excellent cleansing effect on various cosmetic stains. Also, both of aqueous makeup cosmetics and oily makeup cosmetics can be sufficiently removed conveniently and quickly.
Even after storing over a long time, the cleansing material according to the invention shows no separation of the emulsion impregnated into the sheet material. Namely, it is excellent in storage stability. In particular, when the cleansing material is stored at 50xc2x0 C. for 1 month, the emulsion substantially undergoes no separation. The term xe2x80x9csubstantially undergoing no separationxe2x80x9d as used herein means that the difference in moisture contents is less than 30% when the stability of the impregnated sheet of cleansing material is evaluated under the conditions as will be described in Examples hereinafter.